St. Paul, MN – On Tuesday, the Minnesota Senate Health & Human Services Committee heard Senator John Marty’s legislation, Senate File 3612, a bill that would kick private insurers out of Minnesota’s public programs. Also on Tuesday, as part of a proposal to transform Minnesota’s human services system, Governor Walz called for the change Marty proposed.
In response, Sen. Marty issued the following statement:
“Our Patient-Centered Care (PCC) legislation would improve care for the one in four Minnesotans who are in the Medicaid and MinnesotaCare programs. Paying medical providers (clinics, doctors, hospitals) directly for the care they deliver to patients and eliminating the use of HMOs as a middleman will benefit patients, providers, and the state’s bottom line. Connecticut, which eliminated insurance companies from its Medicaid program in 2012, has delivered significant savings.
In the current system, the Department of Human Services (DHS) pays HMOs to pay the medical providers, with the hope that, somehow, the patient’s care will be ‘managed’ or coordinated. Despite the name ‘managed care,’ the HMOs are largely managing claims, not managing the patient’s care. The PCC program would establish a logical means of coordinating patient care, using medical professionals and case managers to assist patients. The bill would enable medical professionals to focus on treating their patients instead of fighting insurance companies.
I applaud the Governor’s interest in this reform and am eager to work with him to see SF 3612 become law.”
The entire bill presentation can be viewed here.
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